Acquisition of materials housed in Archives & Special Collections (A&SC) at Santa Clara University (SCU) has been ongoing for almost 250 years. However, library correspondence from 1994 denotes hesitation over making a “REAL decision on whether or not we should be in this business.” Almost fifteen years later the Library opened a new building with a suite of facilities for administering special collections and a task force assembled to review holdings and set strategic priorities for this area. More recent changes in both the Library and the A&SC department have renewed the need for the Library to articulate a clear vision for its unique collections in keeping with its vision as a vibrant and vital center for learning.Acquisition of materials housed in Archives & Special Collections (A&SC) at Santa Clara University (SCU) has been ongoing for almost 250 years. However, library correspondence from 1994 denotes hesitation over making a “REAL decision on whether or not we should be in this business.” Almost fifteen years later the Library opened a new building with a suite of facilities for administering special collections and a task force assembled to review holdings and set strategic priorities for this area. More recent changes in both the Library and the A&SC department have renewed the need for the Library to articulate a clear vision for its unique collections in keeping with its vision as a vibrant and vital center for learning.
Article
Big Ship, Small Rudder: Articulating a Clear Vision for Archives and Special Collections
Staff publications, research, and presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2016
Publisher
Society of American Archivists
Disciplines
Abstract
Citation Information
Nadia Nasr. "Big Ship, Small Rudder: Articulating a Clear Vision for Archives and Special Collections" Archival Outlook Vol. November/December Iss. 2016 (2016) p. 15 - 31 ISSN: 1520-3379
This is the article version of the panel presentation given at the Annual General Meeting of the Society of California Archivists (the theme/title for this year's conference was "Evolution and Innovation"). The presentation was for session 10, "Visions and Realities in Special Collections."